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Wednesday, May 09, 2007

I'm told there's an outside shot that House Democrats on the Armed Services Committee will put a restoration of habeas corpus into the Defense Department Authorization Bill being marked up tomorrow and Thursday. Apparently Chairman Skelton has the votes but there are concerns about whether to have this fight now.

Now's the time to let them know that this is something that we elected them to get done. There's a bit of fear that this vote could put freshmen members at risk, though I don't really know why as the data on this isn't compelling and the attack ads just didn't work in 2006.

And there's a Texas connection to work. Please take a moment if you can to make a call.

Sylvestre Reyes (TX-16) is on the House Armed Services Committee. If you can give his office a call to urge action on restoring habeas corpus now, here are the suggested talking points, courtesy of the Center for Constitutional Rights. (h/t to mcjoan on Dkos for the pointer)

Talking points

1. Habeas corpus is a core principle of the Western legal system. Since 1215, habeas corpus has been a major mechanism in ensuring that executive power, whether exercised by a king or a president, is checked.

2. Our nation's founders deemed the right of habeas corpus so important that they enshrined it into the Constitution.

3. Habeas corpus can be suspended by Congress only in times of rebellion or invasion, and neither is currently taking place.

4. Habeas corpus is a core democratic principle. If we are to continue to think of the United States as a free and democratic country, it is very important that we hold on to our Constitutional principles.

5. The Bush administration's "alternative procedure" - the Combatant Status Review Tribunal - is no substitute for habeas corpus. In the unfair and deeply flawed CSRT process, coerced evidence and secret evidence are allowed, and detainees cannot have an attorney represent them.

6. The detainees, many of whom are guilty of only being in the wrong place at the wrong time, have lost years of their lives due to the actions of the Bush administration. They must be given the right to challenge their detention so that these wrongs can begin to be righted.

7. People and countries around the world view the United States as lawless. We can begin to change that by restoring the right of habeas corpus to the almost 400 detainees at Guantánamo